Courvoisier SAS - Museum tours by appointment — Attraction in Cognac

The visit to Courvoisier museum is a bit out of the way when compared to the convenience with which you can visit Hennessy or Martell. I had the good fortune of being dropped by a friend to the facility. So step one, sort your transportation first. Secondly, you need to register on the Courvoisier website scheduling a visit, they usually mail you back letting you know when you can come visit. This for me isn't really a great feature, because it makes it difficult to do a spontaneous trip if you are in the region. I had registered the previous night, and went to the facility without hearing back from them then next day morning. They couldn't find my request info, so they asked me to mail them and made arrangements to accommodate me. I began at 11am and opted for the 20 Euro tour which let's you taste VSOP Exclusif and the Napoléon paired with chocolates.

I had a one on one tour with the guide. She was very warm and provided as much details as she could and was patient. This was my third Cognac house visit and while it offers the standard knowledge pack, Courvoisier offers something different from the others, they allow you to bottle and label your own Version from a hand picked barrel by the master blender. This has to be pré arranged however and would present as a unique experience.

The video room was not functional when I visited, so I missed some content, the tasting session was great, one can simply not enjoy these beautiful drinks. NAPOLÉON was the clear choice for me. The chocolate pairings were amazing. My guide was extremely kind enough to give me a map of the Cognac region as she sensed my interest in the terrain and geography. She also gave me a small booklet on cocktail recipes with cognac. That was a nice added touch.

The area surrounding Curvoisier is beautiful and very peaceful, so the trip is enhanced by that. Overall a good experience with room to improve. I will not share too many pictures as it might ruin the novelty of...

It was closed for autumn. Too bad. It is understandable because there are not so many visitors in winter.

However, you have to pay for the visit. In my opinion they should be happy about visitors who come to their factory. It is a fantastic marketing oportunity to convince of their product. And if the product is appealing I am sure many visitors will buy it afterwards in their shop. To charge for the factory visit can be seen as a ripp-off. At least a basic visit (without testing the product) should be free of charge.

If you are a real fan of Cognac you have seen the production process, the history and information on the area where it is grown on the internet already. You can then save your money for a real...

I spent a week in this fabulous area of France some while ago in 1992 but, it’s long since I got the chance to review it. It is a great place by the River Charente and the tour of the Brandy Museum was incredible. Nevertheless it’s well worth the visit to see the large barrels in the cool cellar and much more. A pyramid of bottles in the foyer with the most expensive at the top. The weather was sunny and made it all the more enjoyable with the person I was with. A former girlfriend who I...